by Atul Hatwal
When the history of Ukip is written, yesterday, Thursday 12th of March, will go down as the day the bubble burst.
It wasn’t just the banal manner in which Nigel Farage admitted he was a racist in his interview with Trevor Phillips.
To believe in discrimination based on someone’s background, to admit to wanting to scrap anti-discrimination laws and legalise racism, would have been damaging enough.
But it was his blustering, obfuscating and dishonest reaction that made matters so much worse. Claiming he was being “wilfully misrepresented,” when the original interview was widely available and the evidence so stark, was utterly incredible.
Five points are salient for the election campaign and beyond: the impact on Ukip’s brand, the opportunity for the Tories, the reaction of the journalists, the danger for Eurosceptics and the broader lessons for politicians talking about immigration.
First, Farage has injected arsenic into Ukip’s already toxified brand.
It’s hard to imagine who will be convinced to switch their votes to Ukip as a result of his latest intervention. Maybe some of the BNP’s dwindling support will be reassured that Farage is a true racist and peel off to join the purple army.
But many who might have considered Ukip will take fright.
According to a ComRes poll a few weeks ago, 44% already thought that the party was racist. As yesterday’s events percolate into the public consciousness, the number who think Ukip racist will rise to cross 50%.
A leader embodies their party and a vote for them says something about the elector. Not many would like that to be “I am a racist.”
